Morgan Stanley Opens Bitcoin Funds to All Clients Starting October 15

TLDR

• Morgan Stanley will allow all wealth management clients to invest in Bitcoin funds starting October 15, 2025, removing previous restrictions that limited access to clients with over $1.5 million in assets
• Clients can now purchase crypto funds through IRAs and 401(k) retirement accounts, not just taxable brokerage accounts
• The firm will initially offer only Bitcoin funds from BlackRock and Fidelity, with automated systems monitoring client exposure
• Morgan Stanley’s Global Investment Committee recommends maximum crypto allocations of 2-4% depending on investor risk profile
• The change affects Morgan Stanley’s 16,000 financial advisors who oversee $6.2 trillion in assets across 19 million client relationships

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Morgan Stanley has announced it will expand access to cryptocurrency investments across its entire client base. The policy change takes effect on October 15, 2025.

The new guidelines remove previous restrictions that limited crypto fund access to high-net-worth clients. Under the old policy, only clients with at least $1.5 million in assets and an aggressive risk tolerance could invest in these products.

Financial advisors at Morgan Stanley can now recommend crypto funds to any client. This includes investments held in individual retirement accounts and 401(k) plans.

The timing of this shift comes after the U.S. government changed its approach to digital assets. President Donald Trump’s election marked a turning point in regulatory attitudes toward cryptocurrency.

Morgan Stanley’s wealth management division employs roughly 16,000 financial advisors. The firm oversees approximately $6.2 trillion in client assets.

Automated Safeguards and Product Offerings

The bank will use automated monitoring systems to prevent clients from becoming overexposed to crypto. These systems track allocation levels across client portfolios.

For now, advisors can only offer Bitcoin funds from two providers: BlackRock and Fidelity. Morgan Stanley is reviewing other crypto products for potential future additions.

The firm’s Global Investment Committee issued guidance on appropriate crypto exposure levels. The committee recommends up to 4% allocation for high-risk “Opportunistic Growth” portfolios.

Balanced Growth portfolios should limit crypto to 2% of total assets. Wealth conservation and income-focused strategies should avoid crypto entirely.

Retirement Account Access Opens New Market

The policy change opens crypto investing to retirement accounts for the first time at Morgan Stanley. This represents a substantial shift in how Americans can access digital assets through traditional financial institutions.

U.S. retirement assets totaled about $45.8 trillion as of June 30, 2025. IRAs held approximately $18 trillion while 401(k) plans contained about $9.3 trillion.

Morgan Stanley made a related announcement last month about its E-Trade platform. The online brokerage will soon enable trading of Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana.

Jeff Feng, co-founder of Sei Labs, commented on the policy change. He said institutions now view digital assets as an investable asset class rather than purely speculative holdings.

Other major financial firms have expanded their crypto services this year. Fidelity launched retirement accounts with near-zero fees for crypto investments in April 2025.

JPMorgan began accepting crypto ETFs as loan collateral in June 2025. The bank also started including crypto holdings in client net worth calculations.

BlackRock is exploring tokenization of ETFs on blockchain networks. The company’s spot Bitcoin ETF generated $245 million in fees over the past year, making it one of BlackRock’s most profitable funds.

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